For more years than I care to admit, I’ve been writing a story. Nothing special about this activity, I know many people who are writing a book. Some people have indeed written many books. But here I sit with my one and only novel near completion. It sure has been an endurance test. On the days when my confidence ebbed and I allowed my inner critic free rein, I doubted that my project would come to fruition.

Writing wasn’t my profession or training, in other words I’m a novice and I had to learn to write (to industry standards). Of course, when I started I didn’t know that. I knew I had to learn the trade and assumed the skills obtained from other aspects of my life and my professional career would naturally transfer across to the world of fiction writing. Well, some of those skills certainly did come in handy but the rest had to be learnt. Thankfully, I discovered this quickly, and so the steady journey of learning specific skills and understanding about the complicated world of writing fiction began.

It’s not easy coming from a different professional base, feeling wise and competent in one arena and then being designated to the bottom rung again. But it’s important to work that out early in the process. It’s a humbling experience, if not a unique one but it sure does require dedication. There were periods of time when I fully focused on my writing and at other times I neglected it or maybe took time out instead. But the story remained in my head and drew me back with renewed interest each time. Hence a drawn out gestational period for this book.

One frustrating aspect of writing, is when non writing friends and relatives continue to ask ‘have you finished your book yet?’ Well, truth be known I’d finished it many times, only to go back and re-draft, yet again and again. This is where the learning is, I guess. I could have (foolishly) self-published this story a couple of years ago but I knew it wasn’t ready. Try explaining that to others!

Over the last year I’ve braved up and had a series of readers critique for me, that’s been a rich and valuable experience. I’ve also engaged a professional editor which has made all the difference. And just recently, one of the most important aspects of the process has been to apply self-imposed timelines for the completion and publishing of my book. As soon as I did this, a light flickered at the end of what has been a long and arduous tunnel.

Watch this space for more updates and news about my book…